Is toast really more likely to land butter side down if you drop it?

A team of miniature scientists believe they have bust a popular myth that toast is more likely to land butter side down.

Graham's The Family Dairy carried out the experiment with the help of Molly, six, Lily, five, and four-year-old Ernie.

The team buttered 100 slices of toast before knocking each one from the kitchen table at the company's base in Bridge of Allan, Stirling.

The results showed 69% landed butter side up, and they have now shared their research in a YouTube video.

There's nothing more frustrating than dropping your toast when getting ready for work or school but we wondered why it always seemed to meet a messy end,'' said Carol Graham, the company's marketing director.

We decided to conduct our own experiment with some little scientists who had a great time testing out the theory - and creating chaos in the kitchen as they did so.

They disproved the belief that toast always seems to land butter side down, but our team also discovered that the more butter on each slice, the more likely it was to avoid landing awkwardly.

It seems that more spreading alters the shape, creating a slight curve and changing the pattern of its fall. So those who like to spread liberally are in luck.

It's all just good fun, but surprising results nonetheless.''

Molly Scobbie, from Glasgow, said: This experiment was exciting and it was really fun. I'd normally get into trouble if I dropped my food but during this experiment, I've been able to do it on purpose. Not just once but 100 times.''

Her brother Ernie said: Lots of pieces landed with the butter on the top, so I ate it.''

Meanwhile, Lily Stevenson, from West Lothian, liked the way her toast landed, adding: I dropped so much toast today. It would just go straight down - not do loop-a-loops. And lots landed butter side up.''

The team's efforts can be viewed at https://youtu.be/cNIeshDi_iw.

• Local News